News Briefs

Edelstein: Sovereignty in Yesha a 'Non-Issue- for Left

Information Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) spoke Tuesday evening on the international ramifications that may arise if Israeli sovereignty were declared in Judea and Samaria.

In his introduction, Edelstein said that over the past two years he publicly proposed declaring sovereignty in the region and was surprised by comments he heard such as, "crazy, disconnected with reality." He added that the lack of response from the left shows that they believe sovereignty is not a serious issue.

"I recognize three-way attack if and when we declare sovereignty. The radical left will claim we went crazy and that we must evacuate all settlement areas, the pragmatic left will attack us because we acted against the will of the world…Even the right will attack us for such an action," Edelstein said, referring to it as an unexpected attack, adding, "The right will tell us that we betrayed the land of Israel and that we have formally waived our rights to the Land of Israel."